The City of Melfort held its regular monthly council meeting Monday night to discuss issues affecting the community.
Some of the matters at hand included the library feasibility study, scholarships for Cumberland College and the appointment of an art committee.
Library Feasibility Study
Council approved Phase 2 of the study and has hired Group2 Architecture Interior Design to provide professional architectural and stakeholder engagement services.
The goal is to provide future provision of library services in Melfort and determine a direction for upcoming decisions concerning the current facility and future programming/operations.
The current library building is over 47 years old, no longer meeting the current needs of the library and requires major repairs.
According to Mayor Glenn George, there are currently three options for the future of the library.
“We’ve got three quotes on different ways to go and so now we’re going to do a feasibility study on all three, to see which one would be the most cost-effective, do we fix up this building and add on to it, do we put it in the historic post office or do we attach it to the Kerry Vickar Centre?”
The study is expected to take all summer and cost roughly $62,000.
Cumberland College Scholarships
Council has approved an annual scholarship donation to Cumberland College of $1,000 per year, to be reviewed every four years.
George told northeastNOW it’s important to invest in the younger generation.
“We were giving a $200 scholarship and this came along, where if we give a $1,000 scholarship then it’s matched and becomes $2000. It was a no-brainer, as far as I was concerned. Anything that we can do for our youth is good because they’re the future decision-makers and stuff like that.”
Funds are matched through the Saskatchewan Innovation and Opportunity program.
Art Advisory Committee
Council approved a total of eight members for the Art Advisory Committee, who will serve effective immediately, until the end of next year.
The purpose of the committee is to review proposed art projects for the city to deem their level of “appropriateness.”
“They’ll start right away,” said George. “We’ll set up some rules and regulations and go on from there. I think it’s a good thing, then we’ll be able to control art, but I think we have to determine what is art and what is signage and stuff like that, but that’s all to be determined yet, so it’s gonna take a little while.”
Members include Councillor Enge, Brenda Mellon, Joanne Bolen, Linsey Levendall and Director of Community Services, Kerry Vickar Centre Coordinator, Museum Curator and Facility Manager.
In other news
The city also approved two proclamations, as they have proclaimed July 30 as Food Day Canada, in conjunction with the Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan and September 19-25 as Rail Safety Week, in conjunction with CN Rail.
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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com
On Twitter @BenTompkins_8
